REGIONAL 1 SOUTH CENTRAL

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   Memorable day at ODP, especially for those of the visiting persuasion who must have numbered 250+ - quite a lot of international caps in the house too, by the time you counted all the Welsh former players (inc a brace of '71 Lions) & our own Matt Banahan. Great atmosphere, some fabulous singing and the weather just about behaved itself.
Agree with MWJ's account of the game, the home backs + visiting forwards were the dominant units, altho' there were exceptions to that rule - for us, I'd pick out Scott Van Breda at 10. He may not have controlled things with his boot as much as our injured 1st choice f-h, Aaron Penberthy, but his physicality in both attack & defence were first-rate, as well as landing 4/4 kicks including a couple of testers.

The Jersey side were dominant in the second half, and would have kicked themselves if they'd lost. There were times when it seemed certain, especially with an uncontested scrum against 13 opponents that should have meant a walk-in for the backs. The longer the 2nd half went on I just feared it wouldn't be our day, but the players were obviously thinking more positively!

3 x BP wins from 4 games would secure the title for Welsh, given their huge (200+) points difference lead over us, so they could afford another defeat, with away games at CS and Wimbledon looking a bit tougher than Horsham and Bracknell at ODP. And we'd need to keep winning, which is absolutely no given in this league towards the back-end of a tough season.

1st Jersey win over LW, in the modern era at least, at 7th time of asking. A great club to visit, and I hope we'll get there again some sunny day...

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islander Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List World Cup Winner Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Location: jersey Status: Offline Points: 7744	Post Options Post Reply Quote islander Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 Feb 2025 at 17:45
	Memorable day at ODP, especially for those of the visiting persuasion who must have numbered 250+ - quite a lot of international caps in the house too, by the time you counted all the Welsh former players (inc a brace of '71 Lions) & our own Matt Banahan. Great atmosphere, some fabulous singing and the weather just about behaved itself. Agree with MWJ's account of the game, the home backs + visiting forwards were the dominant units, altho' there were exceptions to that rule - for us, I'd pick out Scott Van Breda at 10. He may not have controlled things with his boot as much as our injured 1st choice f-h, Aaron Penberthy, but his physicality in both attack & defence were first-rate, as well as landing 4/4 kicks including a couple of testers. The Jersey side were dominant in the second half, and would have kicked themselves if they'd lost. There were times when it seemed certain, especially with an uncontested scrum against 13 opponents that should have meant a walk-in for the backs. The longer the 2nd half went on I just feared it wouldn't be our day, but the players were obviously thinking more positively! 3 x BP wins from 4 games would secure the title for Welsh, given their huge (200+) points difference lead over us, so they could afford another defeat, with away games at CS and Wimbledon looking a bit tougher than Horsham and Bracknell at ODP. And we'd need to keep winning, which is absolutely no given in this league towards the back-end of a tough season. 1st Jersey win over LW, in the modern era at least, at 7th time of asking. A great club to visit, and I hope we'll get there again some sunny day...

Mark W-J Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Coaching staff Joined: 22 May 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 3734	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mark W-J Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 Feb 2025 at 20:47
	Agree about SVB. Those two touchline conversions in the first half were the difference between the sides at the final whistle, but he was more and more influential as the game went on. A lot of those linebreaks from the back row that I mentioned were due to his game management, giving the right pass at the right time.

GWJ Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List First XV squad Joined: 29 Jun 2012 Status: Offline Points: 34	Post Options Post Reply Quote GWJ Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Yesterday at 12:00
	Was at the LW v Jersey match and agree with the comments above. Great advert for the league. The Jersey scrum was dominant and SVB and Thompson were superb for Jersey in the second half. LW seemed to lose their composure and didn't take their opportunities in the first half. The 3 yellow cards didn't help and I don't think they scored a point in the second half. There was an inevitable feeling that the longer the game went on Jersey would win, although 12 minutes of extra time seemed excessive. What happens next? Jersey will really have the bit between their teeth and will think that anything is possible. Welsh need to respond but can they cope with the pressure as we approach the business end of the season? They struggled to get past Brighton (a) the week before the Jersey game and they have a tricky match at CS Stags next. Should make for an exciting end to the season!